As for milks: VegEric brought a litre of each of the new Alpro's to me (Hazelnut and Almond) awhile ago, and I felt pretty meh about both of them. They were too sweet and have too many ingredients for my taste. There's a new Spelt line from Lima --- one of them has almonds. Seriously, there are like 4 ingredients. It's so yummy. So, so yummy. I'd take that over the others (and maybe even over Trader Joe's almond milk) any day!

The Kiosk chain of food shops in the NS train stations now sell a pre-packaged wrap with hummus, falafel and peppadews: http://qizini.com/nl/producten/wraps# (click on the little arrow until it shows the vegetarian wrap)

I had one today and it tasted very good, especially considering it's a refrigerator stable item. Really great to have an option for train station food besides fries with ketchup. There's even some real protein in there. The ingredient list is kinda long, and I think there were one or two iffy e-numbers in the flatbread, so if you want to be 100% sure of the veganness you'll have to mail the brand. Some of the 'stricter' vegans on the Dutch forum are eating it too though, so I think someone probably checked it already.

As for milks: VegEric brought a litre of each of the new Alpro's to me (Hazelnut and Almond) awhile ago, and I felt pretty meh about both of them. They were too sweet and have too many ingredients for my taste. There's a new Spelt line from Lima --- one of them has almonds. Seriously, there are like 4 ingredients. It's so yummy. So, so yummy. I'd take that over the others (and maybe even over Trader Joe's almond milk) any day!

Yeah, I find them pretty meh too. Gulliver once called the hazelnut one 'hazelnut sugary water' and I agree. The Lima Spelt Almond is SO good!

It's funny. I loved the tetra pak of Alpro Almond I got in Belgium, but wasn't as crazy about the fresh carton I got here this week. It was definitely too sweet. (And I'm not bothered by the sweetness of the Alpro soy milk.)

Excited to be moving down to the land of Lima soon. Of course, we can get Lima products up here, but I suspect there's a larger range available down south!

_________________Ain't no guarantees in life, and nothing that comes out of my vagina can change that. - Erika Soyf*cker

I've noticed that difference between NL and BE even with dairy milk. It seems that both in terms of dairy and plant milks, fresh/fridge carton milk is much more the standard in NL while shelf-stable tetra pack milk is the standard in BE.

_________________Ain't no guarantees in life, and nothing that comes out of my vagina can change that. - Erika Soyf*cker

Have you guys tried the Professor Grunschnabel ice cream? It is a relatively new brand with fruity and creamy (coconut based) ice creams. All varieties are vegan. David and I have tried a few, and it is one of the most delicious things ever. The flavors are very surprising, not like any other ice cream we've ever had before. David's favorite is the strawberry habanero sorbet (yes that's right, it's a sweet and spicy strawberry concoction). That one leaves my tongue on fire for half an hour after eating it. I prefer the creamy coconutty flavors, and especially love the Thai Siam Horapa. It's kinda expensive, but so very much worth your money.

They have recently increased their production with a bigger ice cream machine, and are now available in most parts of the country (except for Zeeland, of course. I mean, nobody wants delicious vegan ice cream on the beach... Right?)

Anyhow, check out their website, find a store near you that sells it, and prepare for orgasmic vegan ice cream delight: http://www.grunschnabel.nl/

I've noticed that difference between NL and BE even with dairy milk. It seems that both in terms of dairy and plant milks, fresh/fridge carton milk is much more the standard in NL while shelf-stable tetra pack milk is the standard in BE.

yes, for a long time i barely even knew fresh fridge sold milk existed

Oh man! I've totally seen those ice creams at the local shop, but never thought to look closely at them because...well...I thought it couldn't be vegan. The flavors are so interesting and I love the packaging (I'm a sucker). I'll have to resist this month because of all the grocery spending I've been doing, but next month it's ice cream party!

I have to say .... apart from Daiya and Wilmersburger, I don't really get all the hype about vegan cheeze (and I've tried Cheezly, Sheese and No-Muh).

I really like the Wilmersburger and Vegusto No-Moo cheese I got from VeggieDeli. I just like having a creamy flavor with some dishes. I've been savoring the little block of No-Moo and shredding a teeny bit onto salads. It's the most cheese-like vegan cheese I've ever had in that it's rich and salty and you don't eat too much of it at once. The Wilmersburger is definitely in the "fake" arena. Tastes fake, but in a "I can't stop snacking on this fake shiitake" kind of way. The shreds are great for pizza.

Cheezly is the only thing I can get here in Breda and we only use it in melts, pizza situations. I can't eat that stuff raw.

Do you guys have a go-to web shop for health food stuff? I need to get some protein powder and other smoothie mix-ins, but the options around here are pretty slim or too expensive. Same goes for vitamins. Where should I look online for this stuff?

Also, dudes: Surprise pint of Prof. Grunschnabel ice cream yesterday. It was incredible. So stoked they finally have vendors in Groningen. Good-bye paycheck! (Also, I have no freezer anymore. So this means I can buy a pint and eat it all at once, right? Right.)

Do you guys have a go-to web shop for health food stuff? I need to get some protein powder and other smoothie mix-ins, but the options around here are pretty slim or too expensive. Same goes for vitamins. Where should I look online for this stuff?

I order a lot of stuff from iherb. They have a rewards program, so if you order from them, you can use my coupon code (UGI978) and get money off your first purchase. ($10 of order of $40 or more, $5 off smaller purchases, although if I recall, $40 is where the shipping rate becomes interesting.) They're also generally pretty fast, although last time my package got held up in customs, but that's the only time that's ever happened.

_________________Ain't no guarantees in life, and nothing that comes out of my vagina can change that. - Erika Soyf*cker